Stamping machine



July 14, 1936. 1.. A. KlNGSLEY STAMPING MACHINE Filed April 4, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l [/v vim/Toe.

, Lew/'5 A. flm s/e .iZ Q/ EK July 14, 1936. A K|NGSLEY 2,047,373

STAMPING MACHINE Filed April 4, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 wuu mm 5. a5 Zf/w Patented July 14, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- STAMPING MACHINE Lewis A. Kingsley, Los Angcles, Calif.

Application April 4, 1932, Serial No. 602,996

6 Claims. (01. 101-9) My invention relates to a device for stamping letters or characters in metallic foil, such as gold leaf, on articles, and is of especial utility in stamping names on fountain pens or other articles or sheet material, such as cloth, leather, fabrikoid,

etc.

It is an object of my invention to provide a device of this character of simple construction which may be operated by unskilled operators,

10 but which is so constructed that perfect results may always be obtained therefrom due to the maintained alignment of the operating parts of the device.

It is an object of my invention to provide a device having a vertically movable stamping head adapted to receive a type holder and having means for heating the type, having simple means for holding articles in proper position to be stamped. One of the important uses of the device is in stamping names on fountain pens, and

for this purpose my invention provides a removable fountain pen holder which is adapted to be I received on the base of the device in a position of alignment relative to type held in the stamping head, but which may be removed so that the stamping impression has been made, and may be restamped or impressed by placing the holder again in position on the base of the device and lowering the heated type. In devices of this character at present employed, a grooved channel is provided in which the article, such as a. fountain pen or pencil, to be stamped is placed. To inspect the imprint which has been made is difficult unless the stamped article is removed from the device so that it can be held up to the light, and replacement of the stamped article in its original position is very difficult, if not impossible; therefore, the making of a second impression over an original impression is very difficult in the present type of equipment.

In the use of my device, the article to be stamped is clamped in the removed self-aligning holder, and after an impression has been made the holder may be lifted from the stamping device and the impression inspected. If the impression is not complete, the replacing of the holder in the stamping device will automatically bring the impression into a position of alignment with the type so that the type will engage the characters or letters of the impression when the stamping head is again lowered.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a device of the above character having a stamping head of simple form equipped with simple means for maintaining it continuously in'working alignment so that the type received in the stamping head will always be lowered into 'engagement with the article to be stamped, in a 5 position of practically perfect alignment. This alignment is of great importance in the stamping of cylindrical objects, such as fountainpens and pencils, for in order to obtain a good imprint quickly and easily, the line of type must be aligned 10 with a plane intersecting the axis of the cylindrical object to be stamped.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a device of the above character a stamping head-equipped with a reversible type holder sol5 that the type maybe placed so as to read forwardly or rearwardly, and may be reversed from one position to the other by merely-reversing the type holder without the necessity-of changing the type in the type holder. a

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character having a removable table adapted to be placed on the base in level position and also having a simple means for hold-' ing an article, such as a pocketbook, on the re- I movable table preparatory to the stamping operation. Further objects and advantages of the invention will be brought out in the following part of the specification. Referring'to the drawings which are for illustrative purposes only,

Fig. 1 is a partly sectioned side elevation of a stamping device embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a partly sectioned front elevation..

taken as indicated by the arrow 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross-section on a plane represented by the line 33 of Fig. 1', the-holder being re-' moved from'the base in this view. v

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the remov 40 I able holder removed from its position of alignment in the machine for the purpose of-=inspect-- ing the stamped article. Y

'Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the simple 4 form of type holder I employ. 5

able table and holding means of the device. 55

As shown in Fig. 1, my invention provides a base l| preferably of rectangular form, having a gooseneck support or bracket l2 extending upwardly from the rear end thereof and bent forwardly so as to reach a position above the forward end I3 of the base Supported in the forward end l4 of the bracket I2 is a stamping head l5 having a central bar or shaft l6 which extends upwardly through a vertical opening l1 in the front end l4, and has a horizontal plate l8 at its upper end projecting rearwardly over a compression spring 20 adapted to normally hold the stamping head IS in raised position. The lower end of the stamping head l5 comprises a body 2| of rectangular prismoidal'formv placed to extend laterally with respect to the rectangular base ll above which it operates. This body 2| has a groove or channel22 in the lower portion thereof adapted to receive a type holder 23.

In a downwardly extending front wall 24 defining the groove 22, a'clamping screw 25 is mountthat the forward edge 29 thereof will project beyond the inner'face-of the wall. 21 and thus provide a shoulder which will prevent the type holder 23 from dropping from the channel 22. The rearward portion 3| of the plate 28 is bent upwardly in spaced relation to the outer face of the wall 21 to provide a space or pocket 32 in which an electrical heating element 33 of flat form may be placed in the manner best shown in Fig. 1.

This heating element 33 consists of 'a' resistance wire wound on a flat body of insulating material,

' such as mica, the heatingcoil thus formed-being covered by sheet insulating material, thereby pros viding a heating element of flat or wafer form which is held against the body II. From the heating element 33 va flexible duplex cable 35 is carried to aswitch 38 mounted on the rearward portion of the bracket l2 in the mannershown in Fig. 1, and from the switch 36 electric conductor means 31 is carried to a suitable electrical outlet. I Y

As shown in Fig.5, the 'type'holder includes a pair of plate members 48 and 4| adapted to be moved longitudinally by means of a screw 42 which passes through a flange 43 formed at one end of the member 48 and engages the flange 44 on the end of the member 4|.. A space 39-of proper width to receive a line of type 45 is formed between the members 48 and 4|, and the type is clamped in this space by pressure on the ends of the line of type accomplished by use of the screw 42 which is also equipped with a head 48 of low heat conductive material. The end portion 41 of the flange 43 projects beyond the outer face of the member 4| so as to provldea stop which engages either end of the body 2| of the head i5 when the type holder 23. is-slid 'into the channel 22 from one end or the other thereof.

In the use of the holder 23, it is preferable to set up the line of type 45 and if such line of type does not fill the type space 38, it is preferable to fill in the ends thereof with quads 48, as shown in Fig. 5, in a manner to position the type centrally with respect to the holder. As shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 6, the holder, when inserted in the channel 22, is, xcept for its ends, in heat conducting relationshipwith the walls of the channel, and the holder may be inserted in the channel 22 of the body 2| from the leftened to prevent movement of the holder 23 in the channel 22, the type then reading in for- 5 ward direction and being in forward position; or the holder may be inserted in the channel 22 from the rightward end thereof, as shown in Fig. 7, in which event the stop portion 41 will engage the rightward end of the body 2|, the type then reading in reverse direction and being in reverse position but being substantially centralized relative to the stamping head l5. This stamping head and cooperating type holding means, besides being simple and economical in construction, is very easy to operate. The body 2| which is heated by the heating element 33 need not be touched by the hands of "the operator, and the type holder 23 may be readily removed by engaging the head 48 of the screw 42 and pulling the holder 23 from the channel 22 with out danger of burning the hands of the operator, and without the necessity of swinging the body 2 I.

It will be noted that in this simple construction, the stamping head has no swingably mounted parts which may wear and become disaligned, but

is at all times in alignment with a laterally di-. rected vertical plane indicated by the lines AA of Figs. 1 and 3.

A feature of my invention concerns the simple means wherebythe'stamping head i5 is maintained permanently in alignment with the plane A-A; Formed in laterally extending positions onthe front end I4 of the bracket l2 are lugs 158 having vertical openings 5| through which guide pins or bars 52- are projected upwardly from the end portions'of the body 2 l The members 52 sliding vertically in the openings 5| hold the body 2| in alignment with the plane A-A. As shown'in Figs. 1, 2,3; and 8, the base ll has a pair of upwardly projecting bosses or pads shownin Figs. 1, 2, and 4. This holder 58 consists of ametalbody 59 having a V-channel 80 in the upper face thereof so aligned with respect to dowel pins 8| which project downwardly from the body 59 that when the dowel pins 8| are inserted in the openings 51, the channel 80 will be aligned'with the plane A-Q-A and will hold a cylindrical object, such as a fountain pen 83, inproper position'tobe engaged by the type 45 which is also aligned with the plane AA.. The removable" holder 58 hasa forwardly projecting portion 64 from which ,a stud 85 projects upwardly, this stud extending through an opening 60 in a clamping plate and having a toggle lever 61 on its upper end adapted to .force the plate 68 downwardly, so that fingers or curved portions 68 formed at the ends of the plate 66 will bear downwardly on the cylindrical object, such as the foun- 6 tain pen 63, and hold it immovably in-the channel- 60. The clamping plate 86 has theforward end 18 thereof bent downwardly so as to provide a fulcrumed point on which the plate 66 may swing when the central portion thereof is forced down- 70 wardly by swinging the lever 61 from vertical to horizontal position. The clamping plate 6 6 is held in alignment on the body 59 by means of guide pins 12 which project upwardly from the body 58 through openings 13 in the plate 66.

The stamping of an object, such as the pen B3,

held in the holder 58 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is

accomplished in the following manner. By forcing rearwardly and downwardly on a handle 15 pivotally mounted on a shaft 16 held in the upper end of the forward portion l4 of the bracket 12, a cam member H is rotated downwardly in engagement with the plate H3 at the upper end of the vertical bar l6 of the stamping head l5, thereby causing the stamping head I5 to move downwardly and carry the type 45 forcibly into engagement with the upper portion of the pen 63. Prior to the lowering of the stamping head, heat is produced to heat the type 45 to a desired temperature, by use of the electrical heating element 33, and prior to the lowering of the type 45 into engagement with the pen 63, a sheet of metal is placed over the portion of the pen 63 to be stamped, or such foil is applied directly to the faces of the type 45. the holder 58 may be lifted bodily from its aligned position on the base i l, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and the lettering 18, shown in Fig. 4, may be inspected. Should one or more of the letters, as indicated at 80, be indistinct, the holder 58 may be replaced in the stamping machine, and the stamping head I5 may be again lowered to reimpress the type in the same position as the original impression or printing 18.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 8, the base H has a third upwardly projecting boss or pad 8| placed near the forward portion of the upright part of the bracket l2. A hole 82 projecting vertically through the pad 8| is adapted to receive a dowel pin 83 which extends downwardly from a table or plate 84 adapted to receive flat articles, to be stamped. The plate 84 has dowel pins near the forward end thereof, such as the dowel pin 85, of Fig. 8, which projects into the openings 51 when the plate 84 is in operative position on the base I l of the stamping device. A boss 86 on the rearward portion of the base H supports a screw 81 to which a curved leaf spring 90 is secured so as to swing across the upper face of the plate 84 and to bear down on any article, such as a wallet or pocketbook 9|, placed on the table 84, whereby to hold the article 9| in a desired position for stamping.

Although I have herein shown and described my invention in simple and practical form, it is recognized that certain parts or elements thereof are representative of other parts, elements, .or mechanisms which may be used in substantially the same manner to accomplish substantially the same results; therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein, but is to be accorded the full scope of the following claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A removable type holder for stamping a device, including: a pair of longitudinally slidable members forming a type receiving opening therebetween, there being a shoulder on one of said members forming one end of said type receiving opening and a shoulder on the other of said members forming the opposite end of said opening,

one of said members having a slot therein; an adjusting element threaded through one of said members and engaging the other of said mem- After making an imprint,

bers, said element being adapted by rotation for changing the length of said opening; and a locking element extending through said slot in one of said members and associated with the other of said members for releasably locking said members against relative transverse movement.

2. A removable type holder in a stamping device, including: a pair of longitudinally slidable members forming the sides of a type receiving opening therebetween, there being a shoulder on each of said members, said shoulders forming the ends of said type receiving opening; and an adjusting element threaded through one of said members for engaging the other of said members and adapted by its rotation to change the length of said type receiving opening.

3. A type holder adapted to be slidably received in a channel of a stamping head, including: a pair of longitudinally slidable members forming the sides of a type receiving opening therebetween, there being a shoulder on'each of said members forming the ends of said type receiving opening, and a second shoulder on one of said members projecting beyond the other of said members for limiting the movement of said members in the channel by engagement with the stamping head; and an adjusting element threaded through said second shoulder for engaging the other of said members and adapted by its rotation to change the length of said type receivmg opening.

4. In a device for stamping an article, the combination of: a stamping head having a stamping movement relative to the article and having a channel in the lower part thereof; a pair of longitudinally slidable members fonning the sides of a type receiving opening therebetween, said members being adapted for slidable reception in said channel; a shoulder on each of said members, said shoulders forming the ends of said type receiving opening; and an adjusting element threaded through one of said members for entive to said stamping head and upon the application of rotational force inducing relative movement of said longitudinally slidable members to change the length of said type receiving opening. 5. A stamping device including: a stamping head having a channel therein; a type holder slidably received in said channel and having portions engaging the periphery of said channel with either end of said holder adjacent either end of .said channel; and heating means associated with said head for heating said type holder.

6. In a stamping device, the combination of: a stamping head having a channel therein: a type holder slidably received in said channel; a plate member on said stamping head projecting over a portion of said channel and engaging said type holder whereby said type holder is held in contact with the walls of said channel; type in said type holder having its face projecting beyond said stamping head, said type holder and said plate; and heating means on said stamping head for heating said type holder and said type. 

